A switching chamber of the abovementioned type is generally used in gas-insulated circuit breakers in the voltage range of above 70 kV and for disconnection currents of above 10 kA and is filled with an insulating gas which has arc-quenching properties, for example on the basis of sulfur hexafluoride and/or nitrogen and/or carbon dioxide with a pressure of generally up to a few bar. Since such circuit breakers are designed for switching high and low short-circuit currents, in the event of a switching operation a considerable amount of hot arcing gas is released as a result of the switching arc which is formed, possibly in the form of an explosion, and this arcing gas puts a severe mechanical and electrical strain on the switching chamber. All of the components arranged in the switching chamber, such as switching pieces, an insulating nozzle and a compression apparatus actuated by switching pieces, are therefore connected to one another and supported in the switching chamber housing in such a way that they withstand the high forces occurring during the formation of the arc even once high short-circuit currents have been disconnected a plurality of times.
A switching chamber of the type mentioned at the outset with a housing filled with insulating gas and a contact arrangement held in the housing is described in EP 0 806 049 B1. With the switching chamber described, two rated current contacts of the contact arrangement are each formed by the cold deformation of two metal pipes, and the piston of a piston/cylinder compression apparatus actuated by the switch drive and a fixed bearing element of a sliding guide of a moveable arcing contact of the contact arrangement are held in a cold-deformable metal pipe by means of plastic deformation, for example curling, of the metal pipe. This switching chamber can therefore be manufactured without a screw connection with comparatively little complexity.